Situation with Visa, MasterCard has no influence on Crimea’s major bank

Dec 29 2014

TASS

The situation with Visa and MasterCard international payment systems has no impact on clients of Russia’s National Commercial Bank, Crimea’s biggest lender, the bank’s press service told TASS on Monday.

The situation with Visa and MasterCard international payment systems has no impact on clients of Russia’s National Commercial Bank, Crimea’s biggest lender, the bank’s press service told TASS on Monday.

“The Russian National Commercial Bank emits only cards on the basis of Russia’s PRO 100 payment system. They can be used in the bank’s cash-dispensing offices without failure,” the press service said.

On Friday, December 26, MasterCard payment system has notified Russian banks that it has to suspend operations with payment cards in Crimea following the US sanctions imposed on the Black Sea peninsula.

Earlier, Visa made a statement to the issue. Thus, both international payment systems terminated services to Crimean banks following the US sanctions against the region.

The Bank of Russia told TASS Crimea’s banks were operating as usual.

“Russian credit organizations located in the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol are working in a routine regime, providing access to banking services both for legal entities and individuals, that can open bank accounts, transfer funds between accounts, and to accept/withdraw cash,” the Central Bank said.

Minister for Crimean Affairs Oleg Savelyev told TASS that de facto MasterCard and Visa had suspended their services in Crimea after the March referendum. A Russian payment system is being developed in the region, he said.

The Bank of Russia says that as of December 26 at least 531 affiliates of Russian banks are functioning in the peninsula, among them the Rossiya bank that the United States put on the sanction list.